New World DisOrder
by violetwarnercobalt
Summary: When Logan finds a home for Maria his past collides with his present and the young girl is not the only one to be rescued, or to find a family. Set afer Dark Angel 1x03 with mentions of NCIS episodes up to and including the season 6 finale. T for now
1. Chapter 1

_**New World (Dis)Order**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_I neither own NCIS nor Dark Angel and probably never will, please don't sue this is all just for harmless, non-profit entertainment.

_**Summary:**_NCIS/Dark Angel crossover set at the end of DA 1x03 'Flushed' and inspired by a quote in that episode and one from NCIS 3x05 'Switch'. The events of NCIS happened before those of Dark Angel (age is irrelevant in my world). When Logan finds a home for Maria his past collides with his present and the young girl is not the only one to be rescued, or to find a family. Rated 'T' for now but may change in later chapters.

_**A/N (1)**_**:**This fic was originally inspired by a scene from DA episode 'Flushed' where Max and Logan are discussing the couple Maria went to live with... a couple of seconds after this idea popped into my head the scene from 'Switch' came to mind.

_**A/N (2):**_When I remembered the girl's name this song started playing in my head and I thought it would be good as the title. I also thought that Tony DiNozzo would be proud of the movie reference, then I remembered the scene from Hiatus and realised he wouldn't. But Ziva David might be. So it stays. However when the premise of this fic changed so did the title... So the song is now the chapter title.

_**A/N (3)**_**: **References to (so possible spoilers for) Dark Angel episodes: 1x01 'Pilot' and 1x03 'Flushed'

* * *

_**Max:**__ How do you put this stuff together Logan? Father runs a dairy-farm, the mom's a local school teacher, they've always wanted kids and to top it all off - she gets her own room.  
__**Logan:**__ And a pony.  
__**Max**__: Forget Maria, I'm living with these people!  
__**Logan: **__Well they're dear friends of mine, they're really excited about this, I think it is going to work out great for everybody.  
_**Dark Angel Ep 1x03 'Flushed'**

_**McGee:**__ This is obviously an error with the credit card company.  
__**Tony**: Or it's identity theft.  
__**McGee:** No. It's not possible. I use a secure browser and the latest firewall protection.  
__**Tony:**Look at that, a $5,000 charge from John Deere... A down payment on that combine you've always dreamed of Probie?  
__**Gibbs:** Put the farm equipment on hold. A sailor was shot on Route 249. Tony, grab the gear. Green Acres... Gas the truck.  
_**NCIS Ep 3x05 'Switch'**

_**Ziva:**__ I'm confused.  
__**McGee:**__ So am I, and I saw the DVD twice.  
__**Tony:**__Sound of Music confuses you, Probie.  
__**Ziva:**__ I love that movie! (Starts to sing a song from the movie)  
__**Tony:**__(Clamps hand over Ziva's mouth) One note, and I will lock you in a room and make you listen to "It's A Small World" for 24 hours straight! Do we understand each other?!  
__**Ziva:**__(fearful) Mm-hmm.  
_**NCIS Ep 3x23 Hiatus Part 1**

_**Tony:**__I've got a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba than these guys do of infiltrating SeaLift.  
**NCIS Ep 3x23 Hiatus Part 1**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria**_

Logan sat silently in his parked car, hands gripping the steering wheel, staring up at the farm house. He knew he should go in but he couldn't find the courage to face two of his oldest friends. Sure they knew about his still recent change in condition, hell they had seen the footage of the shooting on TV just like everyone else, but this was the first time that they would actually see him in his wheelchair, never in a million years did he think he would have to face them like this. Feeling both vulnerable and trapped he tore his infamous eyes away from the house. Now facing the passenger seat his sight fell upon the quiet blonde girl seated next to him.

In his selfish state of nervousness he had almost forgotten that she was the reason why he was parked there. It didn't help that the fragile girl hadn't spoken a word in the two or so hours since they left the city, even now she sat in silence, hands folded in her lap, gazing intently through the glass of the car's windshield.

His heart broke a little, there he was, a man of wealth with a family of friends, feeling sorry for himself while the young girl beside him knew nothing but a life of pain and abuse.

Mentally slapping himself over the back of the head he unbuckled his seat belt and began to speak in a hushed voice.

"Are you ready Maria?" Her reply was nothing but a soft nod and the girl released the seat belt as she got out of the car.

While Logan transferred himself from the driver's seat into his chair Maria stood at the closed door on the other side of the vehicle.

For the first time since leaving the penthouse he wondered whether he should have accepted Max and Bling's offers to come along for the ride, if not for his own sake then to support Maria. The poor girl's life had changed so drastically in a matter of hours and Logan, more than anyone, knew how that could shake a person to their core. _'At least hers had changed for the better'_ he thought.

Fighting the urge to vomit Logan forced a smile onto his face and looked up at the girl who had come to stand beside him.

"You don't need to worry you know," he wasn't exactly sure whether he was talking to himself or his companion, a little of both he guessed "My friends are really good people, they are going to love you no matter what."

"What if they don't? What if it turns out to be just like at the warden's house?" her voice barely more than a whisper.

If he hadn't have had experience with abused children before he would have given in to his urge to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Her already too white face seemed to pale as she looked at the door at the end of the path.

"Maria, I know you don't know me but I give you my word, these people are nothing like the warden and his wife. They are kind, caring people; I've known the wife for almost 20 years and her husband for about 18, I wouldn't even think about leaving you with them if I didn't trust them with my own life."

When she finally made eye contact with Logan he could see that even though there was doubt still in her eyes there was also a flicker of something else, hope perhaps?

"Well we better get this over with now because the longer we wait the harder it will be." Logan sighed, knowing this time his words were aimed at himself. He wished that he could be as sure about his friends reactions to him being in the chair as he was about their acceptance of their new daughter.

Logan knew that they had tried to visit him when he was in the hospital recovering, the get well card filled with familiar handwriting had proven that. He couldn't be sure if they had come to see him while he was still unconscious, if they did then neither Dr Carr or any of the nurses hadn't mentioned it. As soon as he was awake and fully aware of what had happened to him he had made it clear to the hospital staff that he didn't want any visitors, no matter who they were. Back then he had had too much to deal with.

Apart from the phone call the other night, the one to arrange Maria's adoption, Logan had only sent the couple a few short emails in the time since he had been released a little over three months earlier. He hadn't been ready for things to change between the three of them again, he still wasn't sure if he was ready now.

The two of them both slowly made their way down the path, like prisoners heading to their own execution, sharing matching expressionless faces.

It was almost a minute before Logan got up the courage to ring the door bell. As his fears of his friends reactions kept playing in his head he unconsciously wheeled himself off to the side so he wasn't directly in front of the red painted door.

They didn't have to wait long for the occupants to answer, _'why would they'_ Logan thought to himself, they were expecting them after all.

His heart skipped a few beats as he saw his two friends, barely changed with age. Right there in front of him stood the same fair haired man dressed remarkably like an English professor, odd considering he was now an almost full time dairy farmer and only a part time author, and the same perky forensic scientist Goth turned teacher, though she was now minus her once trade mark pigtails, that he had spent the better part of his adult life with.

Abby immediately ran to give Logan one of her famous bone crushing hugs, however, she paused before embracing her old friend.

"It's OK Abs, good and bad news of a blown out spinal cord is no pain..." While the dog collared woman almost hugged the life out of him, Logan noticed McGee flinched at his words.

"Tony, I've missed you!"

Maria, who like McGee, had been trying to avoid eye contact with everyone, gave her escort a quick but confused look at the name he was called. That was one of the reasons why he had refused Max and Bling when they volunteered to take Maria, Abby and Tim would always see him as Tony DiNozzo, no matter how many times he tried to correct them. It was another thing he just wasn't ready to do, explain the sordid details of his past to his new friends, people who had only ever known Logan Cale.

"Abs... Missed you too... Can't breathe..." he managed to choke out before she let go and straightened herself out as he readjusted himself in his seat.

"Abby, Tim I would like to introduce you to Maria... Maria this is Timothy and Abigail McGee."

Maria had only enough time to let out a softly spoken greeting before she too was enveloped in one of Abby's less bone crushing hugs. If the poor girl hadn't been through so much Logan might have laughed at the sight of Maria tensed straight as a stick, stunned look on her face.

For the first time since they arrived McGee spoke up "Ah... um... Abs... Maybe you ought to let Maria go so she can breathe and we can let her and Tony in out of the cold. They must be tired after the drive and Maria probably wants to get settled in..."

"Oh right Timmy, sorry Maria I'm just so happy you are joining our little family! Come inside you guys. Oh and Tony, don't ever call me Abigail again!" Abby let go of the girl and gave her friend a wicked grin with a pointed stare.

McGee held the door open for them all as Abby led Maria and Logan inside. Logan's stomach twisted and knotted, the presence of butterflies undeniable, as again McGee failed to make eye contact with the bespectacled man.

'_This is going to be worse than I imagined.'_ Logan thought with a sigh and a push of his chair.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for all the non-essential story related stuff at the beginning, I felt it important to add it for those who have only seen one of the two shows being written about. I will try and keep the notes down in the coming chapters.

Thoughts?


	2. Chapter 2

_**New World (Dis)Order**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_ Again, don't own don't sue.  
_**A/N (1):**_ Well this was originally intended as just one chapter however now I am right into the story and I think I need to delve deeper into the missing 10 years.  
_**A/N (2):**_Just so you know I am planning for the NCIS references to take place through all the seasons aired so far (so 1-6). As the show is on break now and the date the pulse would have happened (June 1st 2009) I think it fits in perfectly. Tony's attitude by the end of the season finale also helps with the transition from Tony to Logan... thus my plan for world domination falls into place. *insert evil laugh*  
_**A/N (3):**_Also as a Tabby fan it pained me to write that Abby Sciuto was now Abby McGee... however as a writer I need to throw away everything I believe in sometimes. :(  
_**A/N (4):**_One final note for this chapter is that this fic is primarily going to be the NCIS team in the Dark Angel world. There will be characters and episode plots from Dark Angel involved but as I am changing the universe a bit you won't necessarily have to have seen Dark Angel to understand this fic.  
_**A/N (5):**_References to (so possible spoilers for) NCIS episodes: 2x22 'SWAK' and 2x23 'Twilight'. Dark Angel: 1x01 'Pilot'.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 2: Lost in Memories**_

It didn't escape Logan that the first thing he noticed upon entering the house was the familiar faces from his past covering almost every inch of the wall, the majority of photos being candid, some of which he himself had taken. Looking over them all for just a quick second it struck Logan how, out of the nine people showing up most frequently in those photos, only the two whose house he was currently in, had seen him in his wheelchair; even though he was still in regular contact with four of them. Out of the remaining seven, two knew he had been shot, two had died many years before and Logan himself, or the man he used to be, was one of them. He couldn't even force himself to think of the two his mind had left out.

He tried to avoid them, memories of that time and who he was then and now hurt just a bit too much. If he had to look at them much longer he was afraid he would have a breakdown, Logan couldn't let that happen, not only did he feel the need to be strong for Maria's sake but he couldn't risk showing his old friends any more weakness. Being there in front of them in that god forsaken chair was torture enough.

Even though both Tim and Abby offered Maria a seat on the couch across from them the young girl politely refused and held her spot standing beside Logan, only turning her head occasionally to take in the photos he was trying to avoid. _'When did she become so attached to me?'_ he wondered as a sound from outside caused the young girl to jump slightly and move a step closer to him.

Amongst the self pity and mixed emotions that flooded him in that moment Logan had to hold back a chuckle as he realised what the sound was, _'Cows!'_ he thought. Never in all the years of his past life did he think that the man before him would become a farmer. The pulse really had changed so many lives, people struggled even more now to make a living as an author and the only way any money could be made as a law enforcement officer, or a federal agent, was to be on the take.

The room was filled with an awkward silence and a tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Logan and McGee both focused on sections of the floor in front of them, while Abby, even though she was sitting, could not keep her legs from bouncing. Abby's energy had not decreased at all as she grew older, if anything it had become even more hyped up, something that no one could believe possible.

Swallowing the massive lump of nerves which had seemed to lodge in his throat, Logan forced himself to look up, his eyes coming directly into contact with those of the women seated across the room. His friend smiled at him and even though it reached her eyes he could see, or more sense, that there was something hidden behind it. He couldn't work out what exactly was there but it made him feel even more uncomfortable.

The silence was broken by Abby after Logan had caught McGee nudging his wife ever so casually.

"So Maria, Tim and I are so excited for you to come and join our family... have I already said that? Anyway I am sure you will be happy here, I think we'll all be the best of friends! Has Tony told you much about us?"

Logan cleared his throat and looked from the ever silent girl beside him to the once forensic scientist "Ah Abs, it's Logan now remember, Logan Cale... Tony was a whole other lifetime ago..." he couldn't help but rub his hands on his unfeeling thighs as he said the last part and he didn't miss it when Abby nervously bit her lip. "I haven't told her much just that you're a teacher at a local school, Tim runs a dairy farm and I've known you both for a very long time, so long that I'd trust you both with my life."

"Of course you would Ton... sorry Logan... Of course you'd trust us with your life! Timmy here always had your six back in the good ol' days and I know you out for the two of us more than you needed too." Abby didn't notice the uneasiness that fell across Logan's face until after her words were spoken. Quickly she tried to change the topic hoping to spare her friend and ease the discomfort in the room. "How 'bout you come with me Maria and I'll give you a quick tour of our lovely abode and get you settled into your new room. You look exhausted so you should probably nap before I give you the grand tour of the farm, it takes a while to see everything."

Abby got up from where she was sitting and offered a hand out to Maria, who in turn looked at Logan as he nodded reassuringly at her, letting his younger charge know it was okay. It was only after seeing his approval did the young girl accept the woman's hand and was led out of the room. Leaving Logan and Tim in an even more awkward situation.

Both men had returned their eyes to their earlier spots on the floor, neither saying a word and barely even daring to breathe. There was once a time, back when the photos on the wall behind Logan had been taken, that the two men would have been bickering in a way similar to that of siblings, making stupid jokes and even pulling pranks on one another. Before the Logan's shooting they had both matured quite a bit but the teasing had still been around, it was amazing what a bullet or two could do to a person's life and not just a person's spine. Logan let out a sigh of defeat at how his life had changed and turned himself around to face the photos on the wall, letting the memories flood back.

In his mind Logan could still hear all that same friendly bickering, Abby's music being played at a deafening level and the sound of angry growling and a palm connecting with the back of someones (usually his) head. A small smile crept to his lips at the familiar and imagined sounds but was quickly gone as he spotted a photo of a face he had once known so well, contorted into a weird mix of pain, shock and confusion. As he reached forward to take it from it's home on the wall, the sound of footsteps and the presence of someone behind him didn't go unnoticed.

Bringing the photo close to his face and without turning around, Logan finally broke the silence of the room.

"I've got a question for you Tim, why on earth do you have, or would even want, this photo up on the wall? You do remember what this photo was the beginning of, don't you?"

Reaching over the other man's shoulder Tim slowly took the photo out of Logan's hand and began to study it for himself, as if seeing it for the first time. Slightly lost in a memory of his own a sad smile appeared on the younger man's face.

"The photos were Abs' idea, 'a way to keep connected to a family that once was', her words not mine. You know how she would always put up photos in her lab when any of us had to go somewhere. But yeah I remember this photo like it was yesterday... I..I don't think I could ever forget what happened a..afterwards..." McGee trailed off still lost in a memory of long ago and for a while the two men remained in an unmoving silence, not the uncomfortable silence of before, but a silence of a shared pain.

Neither of them noticed Abby standing by the door frame, watching her husband and friend, until she spoke up.

"You know there's a reason I keep that photo up on the wall, actually there are a few reasons."

As the silence was shattered McGee almost dropped the frame he was holding and both men turned their heads to face Abby so fast that she had to suppress a giggle, wondering how neither man got whiplash. Unmoving, Abby continued on, eyes remaining focused on the man in front of her as her husband reverted back into himself, moving to the couch away from the man in the wheelchair, his eyes drifting back to the floor.

"One is because it was the last candid, non-crime scene related photo Kate took..." She couldn't stop herself from tearing up at the thought of the friend she'd lost. Logan gave her a sympathetic smile and wheeled himself around to face her, interested in what she had to say next.

"You said there were a few reasons?"

She nodded and continued on "Reason number two is because every time I look at that particular photo I realise how close we were to losing you because of that damn plague and it reminds me that you are still alive and how strong you are..." though he didn't say anything, Logan knew the last part wasn't just aimed at his bout with Y-pestis, he did however nod for her to continue.

"Reason number three is the most important reason, you saved Timmy and Kate's lives that day, it didn't matter that you still weren't a hundred percent well, not to mention that you took a tumble down that hill but you did what you had to help your friends." biting her bottom lip she forced her self to continue even though she felt herself choking up "...You always do what is right... no matter what..." she couldn't stop herself as a tiny sob escaped her lips "... no matter what it...it costs you..." As she stood there, tears welling up in her eyes and her lip quivering, she ignored her husband seated on the couch, who too had a hint of tears in his eyes, eyes that were now focused on wringing his hands. All Abby saw was her best friend seated in the chair he hated more than anything, the chair he was now confined to for life, all because of his need for justice and a longing to help others.

The man they had once known as Tony sighed as he stared her straight into the sea green eyes of his oldest friend, seeing she was about to breakdown he held out his arms ready to embrace her.

"Come here Abs." It was spoken with a barely audible tone, the moment Logan had finished saying it however, the woman across the room practically ran to him and fell into his lap, a flood of tears reducing her to a sobbing mess, her body heaving and shaking with built up emotions escaping.

As he held the bawling Abby in his arms, kissing her on the top of the head and whispering words of comfort to her, Logan finally looked towards McGee on the couch and for the first time since he had arrived their eyes connected. What he saw in his old partner's eyes was the one thing he had feared the most and one of the things he couldn't escape now, his friend's eyes held nothing but sadness and pity...

* * *

A/N: A cookie for anyone who knows what photo I am referring to and and extra cookie for anyone that can provide me with a copy. Just joking of course, I eat all my cookies so there are none to share ;D Also I already have a copy of that photo!

Just so you know this was originally written before season 7 premiered in America, hence the A/N at the start. However it was finished at about 3.20am on December 4th 2009, I added some parts during editing. Hope you liked it.

Thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

_**New World (Dis)Order**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_ Again, don't own don't sue.

_**A/N (1):**_As I said last chapter this is going to be a long long story that will delve into the missing 10 years between NCIS season 6 finale and Dark Angel pilot. However that probably won't start until chapter four._**A/N (2):**_During the progression I will try and keep the characters and events from both shows as true to the original as possible with something this AU. However expect it to be more NCIS focused than Dark Angel. In other words it is NCIS 2019 and they have moved to Seattle.

_**A/N (3):**_References to (so possible spoilers for) NCIS episodes : 1x20 'Missing', 2x10 'Chained', 2x22 'SWAK', 3x09 'Frame Up', 3x24 'Hiatus pt2', 5x01 'Bury Your Dead', 5x05 'Leap of Faith', 5x10 'Corporal Punishment', 5x18 'Judgement Day' and 6x25 'Aliyah'. Dark Angel episodes: 1x01 'Pilot'

**_

* * *

_**

**_Chapter 3: Abandoned Pain_**

It was a full five minutes before Abby had calmed down enough to remove her head from her friends lap. Logan's pants were now soaked with Abby's tears and stained from her black make-up, she tried to wipe the marks away with her sleeve but the attempt was futile and was stopped by Logan gently removing her hand.

Everyone was silent for another minute or two, the three of them going back to avoiding looking in each others eyes. Once again it was Abby that broke the silence of the room.

"I'm so so so sorry Tony, I didn't mean to break down, I tried to keep it in but..." Logan cut her off by placing a finger to her lips. He didn't bother to correct her when she referred to him by the name he no longer went by, he could see the pain she was in and knew he was the cause of it, he owed her that much.

"Abs, you have nothing to apologise for... if anything it was my fault, maybe it wasn't such a good idea me coming here." his comment was met with a swift and unexpected punch to the arm from the woman still seated in front of him and a confused look from the man across the room.

"Anthony Dominic DiNozzo, Logan Cale, or whatever the hell you want to call yourself, how can you think this is possibly your fault? I'm an emotional person, it's what I do! I cried when we thought you had been blown up, I cried when you were made Agent Afloat, I cried when I got you sent to jail, when you had the plague, were drugged and kidnapped by that crazy bitch, when you were handcuffed to that murderer and when that damn marine broke your nose. You said I had nothing to apologise for right? YOU have nothing to apologise for, except for the fact that you think Timmy and I would be better off not seeing you. Do you know what it was like for us when you were in the hospital? We saw you twice when you were unconscious, pale and looking like you wouldn't make it, then the next time we went in we were told you had woken up but you didn't want any visitors, they wouldn't let us in to see you and we wanted to be there for you, we wanted to help you because that's what family does. Get it through that thick head of yours mister, we are family and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Logan couldn't stop the corners of his mouth turning upwards ever so slightly at the fact Abby hadn't once taken a breath in her rant. He was still rubbing his arm from her punch and she looked as though she might hit him again at any second.

"Abby..." Tim finally opened his mouth to give his wife a stern warning to keep her voice down while their new daughter was trying to nap in the next room.

"No Timmy, no! I am not through with him yet." She rose to her feet and stood facing the man her tirade was aimed at, hands on her hips. "I know what you said but I am sorry that I cried... well not so much sorry that I cried but the way it happened. I shouldn't have broken down in your arms like that, it's just seeing you like this..." She paused as Logan's eyes fell to the floor in fear of seeing her pity "I don't mean seeing you in a wheelchair, for crying out loud I have seen you look worse physically a dozen or so times before. No, I mean seeing you look so emotionally battered and broken. Your eyes don't have the same gleam to them as they used to, you are missing the happiness and humour that used to light up your face. Also the fact that you aren't even going by Tony any more just hurts a bit too much." After getting everything off her mind Abby exhaled deeply feeling as though a large weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Logan brought his face back up to meet Abby's, his head starting to feel like it was a yo-yo, and tried and failed to plaster on his old trademark DiNozzo grin.

"Feeling better?" referring to her double rant, she nodded and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, smudging her make-up in the process. "Friends again?"

She accepted his proffered hand and replied "Of course, I never stopped."

"What about you Tim? Are we OK?" Logan asked looking over his shoulder. He watched as Tim raised from his seat and mumbled something about checking on Maria before fleeing the room. The older man's face visibly fell as he watched McGee make his escape.

Abby moved to stand behind Logan putting her arms around his neck in an embrace "Just give him a bit more time to get used to it," she whispered in his ear "he is used to seeing you as his Agent Tommy that the wheelchair makes him uncomfortable. He is not sure how he's supposed to act around you."

"That's the thing Abs, no one is sure how to act around me... hell I am not even sure how to act around me and I am me. I am stuck in this half useless body and people are treating me as though I have the plague..." despite the seriousness of his words both Logan and Abby gave a little chuckle at his choice of words "OK so maybe not the plague but they are treating me like a leper, like being a paraplegic is contagious and if they come too close they will end up on wheels too, if it's not that then they pity me... I cannot stand the pity Abs."

"I don't believe that for a second! Not everyone shares the same insecurities as you and Timmy. See, I'm touching you and I'm not afraid. I also don't pity you." at his incredulous look she continued "Yes, I might have been a sobbing mess a few minutes ago but it was not out of pity and I told you that. "

"Hmm, well you may be one of a kind on that front." He had wheeled himself forward out of her arms and turned around, he knew they weren't through with this talk and he felt the need to see her face to fully understand what she was saying through the rest of their conversation.

"Ok, yes, my husband is uncomfortable around you. Can you blame him? In his mind you are a completely different person to the man that he knew all those years ago and of course there will be ignorant people who will only see the disability and not your abilities... but are they really the type of people you want to be friends with? What about the people you mentioned in your email? That physical therapist of yours? Doesn't sound like he would pity you."

Logan completely ignored what she had said about Tim, he wasn't ready to go into the fact that he had let down the other man, a man who had once saved him from plunging to his death, because he had reinvented himself. Instead he decided to shift the topic to Bling.

"Of course Bling doesn't pity me, he has been dealing with people in my situation for years, it is his job to understand. Also the man is an ex Navy Seal and they don't pity anyone. In fact most of the time he is threatening to kick my ass..."

He wasn't sure when Abby had actually started pacing, but he noticed the second she got an idea because she stopped with a jolt as though it had physically struck her and she turned on her heel to face him, a devious little smile on her face.

"Maybe that's what you need, someone to give you a kick up the ass every so often when you start to feel sorry for yourself... or someone to give you a good slap across the back of the head..."

"NO WAY! JUST NO ABBY!" Logan's face turned an ugly shade of red as he slammed a hand down on one of the wheels and half yelled, half growled at his friend whose face was now contorted with surprise. "Under no circumstances are you to call him, and there is no way in hell that you are going to tell him about me!"

"But..."

"I SAID NO ABBY!" He could feel his blood boiling at even the thought of the man Abby had in mind. "He abandoned us Abby, just up and quit without a reason, no goodbye, no nothing. Do you remember what you were like after he left?"

It was Abby's turn to get angry now "Of course I do, do you think I would just forget that? but he is still family Tony and he has a right to know!"

"I think you must've forgotten because if you remembered you wouldn't even think to bring it up. It was the day after your wedding Abs, you and McGee had to come home a week later from your honeymoon to find out he had packed his things, put his house on the market and split. The first four months were tough with you convinced he would come back like the last time, you, Tim and I working till all hours, slaving to pick up the slack when the world went to hell after the pulse..." he paused to take a breath and barely spoke his next few words "... we were already one person down who we refused to replace."

"I know..." the Goth's reply was also barely spoken, both their hearts hurting at the memory of a tough time.

When he continued Logan's voice had quietened a bit but the pent up anger was still there "What was even worse though was when you came to the realisation that this time he wasn't coming back, it almost ruined your marriage because you blamed yourself for him deserting us, that if you hadn't have gotten married then he would have stayed." tears started to fill her eyes as the painful memories continued to return. Seeing the pain he was bringing to her for the second time that day Logan reached out a hand again, taking hers in his and stroking the back of her hand with his thumb to comfort her. He didn't want to be putting her through this but he needed to make it clear to her.

"Abby, he stopped being the family the moment he decided to walk out, not even so much as a 'you'll do' or a kiss on the cheek. Even if I wanted you to contact him, which I need to make clear I don't, he didn't even bother to leave you a number the second time."

"Couldn't the powerful Eyes-Only track it down?" her eyes sparkled with tears and a hint of pleading. He hated to burst her little bubble of hope but in his heart he knew it would be easier to disappoint her now then for her to be rejected by the older man a third time.

"I could but you know I won't, it is better this way, you won't get hurt as much... but you have to promise me something... you have to promise me the you will not contact him and you won't tell him about me getting shot... Can you do that?" he stared her straight in the eyes with a look she hadn't seen in a very long time, it was a look of pure determination and a need for her to be on his side in this decision.

She was so choked with emotion that no words were coming out of her mouth, she bobbed her head once in agreement and then forced out a small _'promise'_. Knowing that his oldest friend would be true to her word he gave a small sad smile and looked down at the watch on his left wrist.

"I hate to leave it on that topic Abs, but I really should be getting back to the city, it's getting late and in this day and age it's not a good idea for anyone to be on the road after dark... especially not someone in my condition." As he went to move to the front door Abby put her hand on the back of his chair to stop him.

"Wait before you go I've got something for you..." she quickly dashed out of the room leaving him alone with his thoughts in the silence, Tim never having returned from checking on Maria.

_'Perfect, now my friends feel they have to hide from me and in his own house none the less...'_ he shook the rest of the thought from his head as Abby returned with her hands hiding something behind her back.

"I was going to give this to Maria but I think you need it more and also I know you understand the power it has." she brought her hands around to reveal a long forgotten grey stuffed hippopotamus, still with a black spiked dog collar around it's neck. He didn't even try to hold back the smile that spread across his face as she held out the cherished toy and squeezed it middle producing a farting sound. Abby was glad to see that it was a genuine smile on Logan's face, although it was not the heart stopping DiNozzo smile that once had women swooning it was pretty damn close and she knew it would do for now.

_'Good ol' Bert'_ the still smiling man thought as he gave the hippo a squeeze of his own. "I cannot believe you still have him after all these years, I shouldn't be surprised though, except for maybe the fact his fart still works, would've thought you would have worn him out after your years of using him as a stress toy."

"Nope, he's still as perfect as ever! Whenever you get frustrated or pissed I want you to give him a squeeze and let the fart carry it away... that's doctor's orders by the way." after both sharing a laugh Abby turned serious again "It is your turn now, I want you to promise me a couple of things."

"I'll try, what is it?"

"One, I want you to take care of Bert for me, I've already told him to take care of you but it's a two way street." with a chuckle and a nod from him she went on "Two, I want you to promise to keep in touch more and by that I mean I expect you here Friday for dinner! I know you are a very busy man but if we try and catch up at least once a week we should be fine..." He knew immediately that by 'We' she meant him and McGee and also that even though a lot had happened in her living room in the past hour or so that his and Abby's friendship was fine.

"I think I can promise you that, a man has to eat after all. But I really better get going now, say good bye to Tim for me..." he had wanted to apologise again for making Tim feel the need to hide from him but he knew Abby wouldn't accept it. They shared a hug and she stood at the door and watched as he got into his car and drove away out of sight.

It wasn't long after the car had pulled away that she felt arms slide their way across her waist and she lent back into her husband's embrace, head resting on his shoulder and his chin laying on hers.

"How much of that did you hear?"

He closed his eyes, wrinkles creasing his forehead he felt tired but he couldn't escape the truth "All of it..."

"He needs help Timmy, he is trying so hard to keep from drowning but it's not working. It's not the physical stuff he needs help with, he already has someone helping him out there, it's emotionally, I can see him slipping away and I don't want to lose him, we can't lose him... It is starting to remind me too much of the whole Tel Aviv situation. I don't like it..."

"I know you don't, if I'm honest I don't like it either, but what can we do he said he didn't want any help. Maybe he just has to go through this by himself."

"That's the thing, he doesn't have to go through this all on his own. We're his family and we need to show him we are there for him, even if him being in that chair makes you uncomfortable to be around him..." she took a long pause not liking what she was going to have to do next but knowing it may be the only thing that could save their friend. "I know what we have to do." At the confused look she knew was on her spouse's face she pulled a scrap of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"Is this what I think it is? How on earth did you get it?"

"Yes and don't ask, I'll explain later. I do however need you to grab the phone and dial this number... don't worry I will do the rest..." Even though she was a lady of science and didn't believe in luck she hoped she could trust her gut and that her plan wouldn't backfire and blow up in her face. _'I just hope Tony won't hate me...'_

_

* * *

_

_A/N: I know it was a very Tony-Logan/Abby laden chapter, it seemed as though McGee and Maria disappeared for a bit there but I felt it worked better just the two of them and it is probably best I don't write much McGee at the moment, I am angry at him for the events in Crying Cowgirl's fic Unexpected Discovery and I am worried my anger at him caused by that will come through in this. Was the little sneak peek into one of the major events of the past 10 years interesting enough? I promise that will be explored in the next two chapters. As for the eyes only stuff in regards to who knows what I think that will come in in about chapter 6._

_Sorry if it gets confusing it is 6.14am and I have been writing this all night, don't worry I will try to edit it as much as possible before it is posted._

_Oh and by the way Bling is a pretty well built guy and I know some other Dark Angel fans have written him as some sort of ex-military type so I thought it would be the perfect addition to Bling in this story, kind of give him a connection to the NCIS characters._

_Another apology for how long it took me to post this chapter, what with holidays, killing my laptop charger (just as I was about to edit this I might add) and getting a cold (leading me to sleep pretty much all Christmas and Boxing day) I have barely had time to breathe. I appreciate all the comments, faves and alerts it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside... I will try and post chapter four soon._

_Thoughts?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**New World (Dis)Order**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Again, don't own don't sue.  
_**  
A/N (1):**_ I am going to try and add a tiny bit of Max into this chapter but I am not sure how much, Don't worry Dark Angel fans she will soon play an important part. However in this fic she will be more a recurring character than a main feature. Imagine her like the other X5s were, they weren't there much but they were talked about and when they did show up they were the main focus of the episodes or actually Asher may be a better example. For you non-Dark Angel watchers that is like Jeanne, Hollis Mann or Paula Cassidy... or Ari.  
_**  
A/N (2):**_ Also this is still set between Flushed and the following episode of Dark Angel. The DA episodes will play a big role in the progression of this story.  
_**  
A/N (3):**_ This chapter goes out to my fellow NCIS tweeps who read my rants about this chapter and helped me get through it, I definitely would have gone insane without you guys! THANK YOU!  
_**  
A/N (4):**_ References to (so possible spoilers for) NCIS episodes: 6x25 Aliyah,

* * *

**_Chapter 4: Blast From The Past_**

It was late by the time Logan, as well as his new companion Bert, arrived back at Fogle Towers. Normally he would have jumped straight back into Eyes-Only mode and worked the remainder of the night but his visit to the McGee's had been tough on him and it had left him drained emotionally, causing a sudden onset of exhaustion. The exhaustion had hit so quickly and unexpectedly that on the drive back he had almost fallen asleep at the wheel. Luckily for him years of pulling all-nighters on cases, both in his new life and his old one, had given him enough staying power to make it home in one piece, or at least in the same condition he was when he left.

In a rare occurrence for the journalist he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Despite all that went on earlier in the evening his sleep was surprisingly uneventful. If he dreamt it didn't stay with him afterwards.

When he awoke the next morning he had no recollection of having gotten into bed, or even changing, and he had no clue what had woken him up. Laying in bed, eyes still closed, listening for some clue as to what aroused him from his slumber, Logan almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the familiar farting sound. Forcing his eyes open and scrambling for the much needed glasses that lay on the bedside table to his right, he was shocked to see Bling seated in his wheelchair beside the bed, a humorous grin on his face. In his two massive hands he clutched Abby's stuffed friend.

"I see sleeping beauty has finally come too!" The man in the bed just rolled his eyes as Bling gave off a chuckle. Turning to look at the clock on his bedside drawers Logan was shocked to see that it was almost half past eleven in the morning.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner? Weren't we supposed to start at seven-thirty? You must have other people you need to see..." with a second chuckle from the other man Logan began to get frustrated. Pulling himself up from the bed he gave Bling a glare to rival that of someone he wanted to forget.

"Don't worry about anyone else for once in your life Logan. I came in earlier, you were a sleep so I reorganised my morning a bit. No one else minded and I don't think I have ever seen you sleep in since I met you." As Bling stood to let a more awake and alert Logan transfer out of bed his face became serious "In fact, I don't think I have ever seen you sleep full stop. You do realise sleeping helps aid the healing process, don't you?"

Logan rubbed his eyes under his glasses and moved to get his sweats ready for his session with the PT. "Of course I do... I do sleep you know Bling, not as much as the average person but I never have. Sometimes there just isn't enough time... and no I don't need a lecture."

"No rest for the saviour of the not-so-free world" Bling's sarcasm couldn't cover his concern for his friend but this time he let it slide, knowing Logan like he did, there would be enough chances to lecture him in the future. "You got five minutes to do what you have to do then you have to get to work." Without another word the ex Navy seal turned and left the room. Working up the energy to change Logan rubbed his eyes again, despite his extra long sleep he still felt exhausted. He also couldn't deny the gnawing feeling in his gut that it was going to be a long day, one he should have skipped by staying in bed asleep.

They had worked for a solid hour, only stopping when Bling had realised that Logan hadn't eaten anything all day. The pair sat down and ate lunch together, it wasn't anything that would have wowed a certain young lady, but what could one expect from a salad sandwich, and he knew Bling didn't care either way just as long as it was healthy and the other man ate something. When they had finished Bling went around tidying up the equipment in room now designated as the personal gym while Logan had seated himself comfortably on the dark leather couch by his favourite window, fingers flying away at the keys of his laptop.

That was how the two of them were when the call came in, Bling being closer picked up the phone and listened to the voice on the other end.

"Logan, apparently there is an older guy down stairs asking to come up and talk to you... Tom in security says that this guy told him you and he went way back and it seems as though he is not going away until he sees you..." Bling was obviously confused as to who the man downstairs could be, there were only two people who came to visit Logan and he was one of them, the other certainly wasn't older and definitely not a male. He could see Logan was also confused for a moment but the look didn't last long as it was quickly replaced by a growing redness in his cheeks.

"Ask Tom if the guy has silvery white hair, possibly a tan and a bizarre looking beard or a moustache, one that seems to lull people into a false sense of security...Oh and a glare that could not only melt ice but could possibly kill a man." Logan knew in the pit of his gut who the man was, the timing fit perfectly. It also explained the churning feeling he had gotten earlier that day.

Bling relayed the information, or at least an edited version of the information, to the afternoon shift guard and turned toward Logan, his confused look growing. "Tom says that's him to a tee. You want to let him up?"

The question was at first greeted with silence. Logan's face growing an angrier shade of red and knuckles turning white as he gripped the side of the laptop. Bling wasn't sure whether the emotions playing out in front of him were through anger, embarrassment or a mixture of the two, whatever it was, he had never seen the normally emotionally closed man look so animated.

"Logan?"

The man in question let out a frustrated and defeated sigh, he definitely wasn't ready for this but he couldn't escape it. One way or another, the man downstairs would find a way into the penthouse. There really was no avoiding the inevitable.

"Yeah Bling, tell Tom to send him up." at that moment he was wishing he could just get up and runaway to avoid the confrontation that was about to happen. That was when Logan turned his head to look out the window and noticed it. "Bling before he gets up here I need you to do me a couple of things..."

The taller man gave him an inquiring look but nodded anyway "Sure..."

"I need you to close and lock the doors to both the computer room and the workout room, this guy is not to see into either of them."

"Ok, but who is this supposed old friend?" his question was ignored as apparently Logan had not finished speaking.

"I also need you to take my chair and lock it in one of the other rooms..."

"You can't hide from the fact you're in a wheelchair Logan, it's taking a giant step back in your progress and you have come so far in such a short time to let that happen."

"Please Bling..." Even though he didn't agree with hiding away something that couldn't and shouldn't be ignored, the pleading tone and the desperation in his friends eyes was another new side of Cale which he hadn't been privy to before. Something in the two combined made it impossible to refuse and Bling silently went about putting the wheelchair in the computer room and locking all four doors that accessed the two rooms.

Whoever this guy was, he must have been important enough for Logan to hide his true life from. Bling could understand him hiding away the Eyes-Only stuff but hiding his physical condition threw him a bit.

It was moments like these that Bling had to wonder whether he truly knew Logan Cale or not. He'd been there throughout the broken man's recovery and rehabilitation and had seen a myriad of emotions, from frustration to pain, but the man who was before him today was someone completely foreign to him.

Just as he was locking the last door he heard the elevator arrive at Logan's level and was shocked when he opened the massive wooden door to see a man that fit Logan's description perfectly. There dressed in beige khakis and a short sleeved brown polo, was an oddly tanned, silver haired, bushy bearded older man with a glare of death. Bling also noticed that the man didn't appear to have time for pleasantries.

"He in here?" the gruffness of the tone was one not to be messed with. Bling remained silent as he lead the stranger to the lounge where Logan was seated.

As soon as they stepped into the room the tension between Logan and the older stranger was obvious. Both were currently taking part in a staring contest and Bling, the odd man out, could sense the was a history between the two that was more than a little bit complicated. Bling wasn't a man that often got uncomfortable but standing there, in awkward silence so thick it was suffocating, he felt the need to clear his throat to snap the two silent men out of there death glare match before one of the penetrating stares actually killed. "Ahem..."

It took only a second before Logan responded "Sorry Bling, this here is the one and only, _formerly_ legendary, Leroy Jethro Gibbs..." Gibbs' death glare grew, whether it was at the use of his full name or the snide tone in which Logan had said "formerly legendary" the PT wasn't sure. However neither man refused to break the gaze. "_Jethro, _this is Bling my..." he was unsure of how to continue and Bling could see the slight fear that flashed in his friend's eyes. Gibbs must have seen it too because his brow furrowed in confusion.

Bling knew that Cale would be uncomfortable saying that he was the physical therapist hired to help him keep his body in shape after loosing the ability to walk, after all he had hidden the evidence away from the visitor's sight, so he stepped in. "Friend. I'm Bling, Logan's friend." he had offered his hand in greeting to the other man but was brushed off with the slightest hint of a nod. "Okay then... I think I will leave you two to it. Logan, I'm just going to head to the market quickly, anything you need?"

"Ah, yeah, there's a list on the kitchen counter... thanks Bling" The appreciation was evident in the journalists voice and the taller man gave a little smile and left in hurried silence. Bling had a feeling one of them was about to explode and he didn't particularly want to be there when it happened.

Gibbs stayed silent as he watched Bling exit the penthouse, making sure the door was fully closed before starting. It didn't take a genius to guess the older man was annoyed, however even if he hadn't been the only other person in the room Logan still would have been the only one to pick up the underlying curiosity and something barely there, _'Is that concern?' _the bespectacled man wondered_ 'Impossible he didn't give a damn 10 years ago, why now?'._

"You want to tell me why I received a damn phone call from a certain forensic scientist, who was in tears the whole time, saying I needed to catch the next Red Eye to Seattle because a Logan Cale needed me here?" Even though it had been a long ten years since they had last seen each other Gibbs got straight to the point and Logan couldn't help but wonder what right the older man had to be pissed when he was the one that split.

"I don't know, did you ask her? Maybe she was in tears the whole time because you abandoned her about ten years ago without so much as a goodbye. Oh and by the way she is no longer a forensic scientist for a living, she's a high school science teacher... but of course you wouldn't know that because you didn't once bother to pick up a pen or phone in a hundred and twenty or so months since you split." there was such a vehemence in the calm way he verbally attacked Gibbs that the older man was sure his once senior field agent would leap off the couch at any minute and physically attack him.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit DiNozzo, Abby called me for a reason and I want to know what it has to do with you and why now?" Gibbs always had a pretty short fuse but this was beyond anything Logan had ever seen before. "And also I would like to know why the hell everyone keeps calling you Logan Cale?"

"You know, you can't just show up here and demand answers, you gave up any rights to that when you took off..." his voice was still eerily calm "and I'm not some perp that you can interrogate with a stare. It doesn't work any more, you might have had some power over me once but guess what Jethro, I'm not scared of you now." The two men were still locked in an epic stare down, it seemed Logan had won though when his opponent's frustration got the best of him and he broke away and began to pace. "But to answer you one question, they call me Logan Cale because that's my name, or it should've been. You know Cale being my mother's maiden name and Logan being the name she would have called me had my bastard of a father not insisted on having a mini replica of himself as an heir."

The pacing man paused for a moment looking over his shoulder towards the couch. He had known Tony, or the man that used to be Tony, was pissed at him but he was surprised that it took the mention of his father for his voice to raise to an angry level. He was even more surprised at the fact DiNozzo Sr. had been brought up at all, let alone so soon. Gibbs watched as the younger man shook the last comment off and returned to the way he was only moments before.

"What I want to know is why did you come here now _Jethro_, why not say a month after you left and Tim and I were the only ones remaining on the MCRT, drowning in work and cases trying to deal with the fallout of the Pulse?" he closed his laptop and folded his hand together on top of it, he could see that it annoyed Gibbs immensely that he was beating the older man at a game that he had taught him back when he was Special Agent DiNozzo. The stare down was something Gibbs had once come to expect, but back then the Italian would have been right up in his face, trying to restrain himself from throwing any punches.

_'Surprised he hasn't mentioned the second secret Abby promised she would keep...'_ that thought struck Logan as rather odd, Gibbs hadn't mentioned a word about knowing that his ex Senior Field Agent was paralysed from the waist down. He couldn't help but hope he could get through this confrontation without him finding out at all.

"Don't give me some bullshit about it being because Abby was crying either. I'm sure you knew all those years ago that the moment you walked away from NCIS she would be inconsolable, I bet that's what got you through those hot Mexican days was the fact that you had that much power over someone's emotions."

He didn't think it was possible but Gibbs' face grew an uglier shade of red as he stopped pacing and returned to the staring match; disgust, anger, hurt and fury all boiling up inside of the cold blue eyes. When he started to speak Gibbs' tone held the same calm level as Logan's but the ferociousness was equal to a wild, rabid animal.

"I don't know why in the hell I came here! What I do know is that I am disappointed and sickened at the way you turned out DiNozzo! Not once in all the years I knew you did I ever imagine you would become a spoiled rich kid living off of his family's money, doing nothing but sitting on your ass all day while you send the hired help out to do your shopping. There are people out there who could use your help and knowledge with the crime rate in this state, but yet, here you are, lazing around, not giving a damn about anyone!"

Logan was beginning to get just as angry as Gibbs, he didn't want to admit it but the other man's words could still hurt him like no one else could, not even Bruno Anselmo the man who put him in the wheelchair, and Logan knew what he was saying was nowhere near the truth.

"You really disgust me, sure you're not wearing one of your designer suits but I bet I bet you still have a whole wardrobe full of them that could have paid for the entire city's meals for a year! You may think those glasses and the unshaven, messed up hair look makes you seem like one of them out there but it just makes you look like a trust fund brat! Think of the people down there on the street struggling while you stand in front of the mirror. The _man_ I once knew would not sit around or stand for all this injustice, the _man_ I knew had an abundance of energy when it came to helping those less fortunate, there were nights when _he_ went without sleep just to do what was right."

During Jethro's entire, long winded, rant Logan had sat there seething, trying to contain his emotions. He had no intentions of correcting the false assumptions, and he didn't want to admit that maybe parts of what he said were true, so he just let him believe whatever it was he needed to believe.

"You're right about one thing, I'm not the man you once knew, that man disappeared when _you_ left three months after coming back from Tel Aviv. You say the man I used to be would not just sit idly by while the world went to hell? Well I once knew a man who would stop at nothing for the same things, a man who got so blinded by capturing a terrorist that took three of his people hostage. What the fuck happened to that man huh?" he was surprised that he had been able to conceal his bitterness so well up until that point, his volume only raising a notch or two since earlier. "You know what Tony DiNozzo also would never have done, completely ignored you and kicked you out of his apartment! You'll have to excuse me if I don't get up off of my rich lazy ass to see you out, being a spoiled rich kid sure does take it out of you." his words dripped with sarcasm and he watched his ex boss turn and storm out before the words had fully left Logan's mouth.

Hearing the penthouse door slam with a great deal of force he rubbed the corners of his eyes with his thumb and index finger "and goodbye to you _Jethro_."

Believing he was alone he was shocked to hear a voice reply to the almost silent and unnecessary farewell that slipped out with his exhaustion.

"Let me guess, Jethro is the angry old dude that flew past me and almost knocked me on ass as I came in?" even though he was glad to see bike messenger as he always was when she popped by unannounced, after the argument he just had, he didn't feel like entertaining the young transgenic.

"Hey Max..."

"I'm gonna say you aren't up for whipping up one of your run of the mill Logan Cale culinary miracles but no big dealio, just thought I would stop by and see how Maria got on yesterday and if you wanted to join OC and me at Crash tonight?" they both knew that wasn't the reason why she had stopped by but he mentally thanked her understanding. It never ceased to amaze him how a young woman who was tortured and raised as a solider could be so compassionate at times.

"Maria's good. As for Crash don't think I'll be able to make it..."

"This got anything to do with Mr. Giggles who just left? Who is he anyway?"

* * *

A/N: I love Bling so I needed to include him a bit here and there. He may end up appearing more than Max but who knows.

Also if you follow me on twitter (thetellyho) then you would have already known how much trouble I had writing this chapter and how many times I have already apologised for it. For those who haven't heard it already, I'm sorry if this sucks! The muse and I were barely on speaking terms when this was written.

Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

**New World (Dis)Order**

_**Disclaimer:**_ Again don't own don't sue.

_**A/N:**_ So so so very sorry for the long wait not only have I been having a bit of trouble with this chapter but also I have had a bad case of insomnia lately (insomnia does not bode well for the muse) and then on the week I decided to get back into it my damn laptop caught the Vista 2010 virus and I had to take a photo of the text and am now typing it up on the family computer which I share with 2 other people. Then I got a serious case of the fic annoying the hell out of me... so sorry again. Good news is though Chapter 6 just needs to be edited so it should be up at the weekend.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Past Pain, Present Pity, Future Fear.**

Friday afternoon had arrived and Logan hadn't heard a word from Gibbs since his unexpected visit two days before, that of which he was glad. He had no intention of talking to the mentor whom had abandoned him all those years ago and with any luck the old man had hopped on the next red eye and headed back to Mexico, though Logan highly doubted that.

Logan knew that Abby still expected him to have dinner with her and McGee that night, though there was no doubt in his mind (and his gut) which other person would also be in attendance. He hated to break promises to anyone, especially the still perky Goth, however Abby had already broken her promise to him first by call Gibbs, so he thought it was fair that he broke this promise to her. He just thanked a God he had long ago stopped believing in, that it appeared as though Abby had not let on about his new mode of transport.

Thinking back to the awkward conversation that had taken place in the penthouse, the older man hadn't shown any clues of knowing Logan's, usually not so hidden, secret. In fact the only thing Gibbs had really seemed sure about in regard to his physical change were the glasses he now needed to wear, days of him having 20/10 vision were a thing of the past , the new scruff on his face and the once trademark designer suits which were now absent. While there had been mention of him sitting on his arse it was in the sense that he was too lazy to get off of it and not in the completely-useless-lower-half way.

In his mind he knew how childish and vindictive it was not to attend the dinner gathering at all, but if he was truly honest with himself it wasn't so much that Abby had broken her promise and called Gibbs, but that she had broken one of her promises and not the other. It might have been better if she had spilled the truth about his physical status, allowing Gibbs to be prepared and expect him in the chair, instead of Logan just showing up and possibly giving the aging man a heart attack.

It had only been a short time since he had been shot and Logan himself still wasn't used to the sight of his seated state, it was the reason he tended to avoid mirrors and any reflective surfaces as much as possible, and if Timothy McGee's reaction, while knowing in advance how the ex-senior field agent now was, he would hate to see Gibbs' reaction to this kind of surprise.

He'd brushed off Max's questions about Gibbs, who she still referred to as 'Mr. Giggles', making up some story that he was one of Eyes-Only's informants and that things weren't going to well on that case, but he knew she didn't buy it for one second. Logan should have known by now that Max could see through his lies, _'probably some sorta special Manticore training'_ he thought to himself. Either way she didn't call him out on it and Bling hadn't even bothered to question him when he returned from the market, both decisions he was grateful for.

As the cyber journalist freshened up from a late workout with Bling he was startled from his thoughts by a knock on the door. Freezing in place, fully expecting his old boss to come face to face with the truth, it took him a minute to realise that the PT had already opened the door and Abby was now leaning against the wall staring at him.

"Earth to Logan Cale, do you read me Logan?" Abby had plastered a faux-cheeky smile on her face in fear that by breaking the promise she had made to her oldest friend he would kick her out of his home and never want to see her again.

She was pleased when she noticed his tense body relax slightly at the sound of her voice and as he shook away whatever thoughts had been running through his mind. Her smile became more genuine as she noticed a matching expression spread across his tired face.

"Abby, did you just call me Logan?" the mischievous tone of his voice resembled that of the man he had been when they first met. It may have just been a simple question but when spoken in that way, complete with the head tilt and grin her heart fluttered, and if it hadn't been for the glasses, stubble and age lines on his face, she would have been convinced that it was 2009 and that they were back in DC, working at NCIS.

The man once known as Anthony DiNozzo had started going by the pseudonym of Logan Cale almost as soon as he left NCIS, in his mind a new life deserved a new name, and with the pulse and a couple of fake IDs and official documents, courtesy of Abby of course, no one he didn't want knowing, was the wiser.

Before the shooting Logan didn't mind when Abby and McGee, as well as the few others he still kept in contact with from his previous life, referred to him as Tony or DiNozzo but that bullet had changed something in him.

Anthony DiNozzo wasn't confined to a wheelchair, he couldn't be, it just wasn't possible. No, Logan Cale was the one with the severed spinal cord, definitely not Tony.

Abby shrugged her shoulders and moved to sit on the bed beside his chair "Well, I thought I owed you that much, after all I was the one that sent Gibbs over to talk to you when I knew you didn't want to see him..." both their smiles slipped away at the mention of the other man.

"Can we _not_ get into that right now Abs? I don't feel like getting into an argument with you, especially after the week I've had." He massaged his temples hoping to ward off the tension headache he knew would be building at recalling his week from hell.

"And _that_, my friend, is _exactly_ why I am here..." Not wanting to see the disappointment in her peridot eyes Logan rolled himself towards his chest of drawers with a half-hearted push.

"Abs, you know I can't." he sighed as he rifled through his clothes, looking for something to wear, not letting her finish her sentence and still refusing to look at her as he spoke.

"What you mean is you won't..." there was something sad in the way she spoke and even though it appeared as though he was focused on his clothes hunt he didn't miss a thing "I thought we had a deal Tony."

"I know we did but..."

Abby abruptly cut him off, too irritated to listen to his self pity "You know, you really aren't Tony DiNozzo any more, the Tony I _used_ to know and love would never break a promise to a friend, especially not a promise he made to me!"

That got his attention and he dangerously spun his chair around to face her "You're one to talk! I seem to remember a promise you made to me that you wouldn't call a certain old bastard down Mexico way!" his voice dripped with bitterness and he gave her a look that could have been lethal.

"Hey I wasn't the one to call!"

"Oh yeah, I am sure your husband, the man who can't even look me in the eye any more, called up the man he despises more than I do and convinced him to hop on the first plane to Seattle and out of the self imposed seclusion he has been in since he cut off all ties with us almost a decade ago, no questions asked? You and I both know that you are the only one of us with that power!"

"OK, so maybe I did talk to bossman on the phone, but I swear to you, I didn't break my promise not to call him..." The disbelieving look that flashed in Logan's eyes suddenly had her feeling more guilty then the time the evidence she discovered almost got her best friend convicted of a crime he did not commit "Timmy dialled the number for me, I swear..."

"Damn it Abby, don't you think you're a little too old to be making excuses like that? You sound like a six year old and it only makes what you did worse!"

The growled words were so unlike Logan that Bling curiously popped his head into the room. "Everything OK in here with you and you're friend Logan?"

Where as only moments before the man in question couldn't look at Abby at all, now he couldn't tear his eyes away from her long enough to glance at his other friend while he answered "Yeah Bling, everything is fine in here, give us a couple more minutes and then we will be with you."

"No hurry, take all the time you need. I'm a big boy, think I can look after myself while you're in the next room."The ex Navy Seal and the Goth shared a smile before Bling left the two to get back to their discussion.

Dropping her eyes to the floor Abby was slightly ashamed of her childish actions "I'm so, so, so sorry Tony... You just looked so broken when you were over the other day, I hate seeing you like that, I just didn't know what else to do..."

"You didn't tell him did you..." She didn't need to ask what he meant, the distant eyes had dropped once again to his numb legs and a hand ghosted over each of them, she knew that he had been hoping to feel something in them the moment his jaw tightened and he punched his left leg with a tightly fisted hand.

There was an undeniable honesty when she spoke, her tone hushed as if not wanting to hurt him any more, biting down on her bottom lip to stop herself from saying too much "I couldn't, I promised you I wouldn't."

"And that is the reason why I can't go... I would rather him think I am just some lazy, spoiled, rich ass than to have him see me like this..." Logan sounded defeated as he waved a hand over his body, emphasising his embarrassment. "Who would have thought that having no feeling in you legs could hurt so much..."

Abby could no longer take the way the man before her looked, despair and pain evident in every breath he took. She crossed the short distance between them, carefully taking a seat on his lap, making sure she didn't throw off his balance and send them both crashing down onto the hardwood floors.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a gentle but comforting embrace she felt the moment he let out a shuddering breath "As much as you might want to Tony, you can't hide away in this big tower for the rest of your life. He's more than likely going to find out about you anyway, especially now he is back in the states. How long do you think it will be before he picks up the phone and calls Ducky? We all know how that man can talk!" They both softly laughed at all the times they had been victims to one of the elderly ME's seemingly endless stories and the Goth could feel some of the tension, in the room and in his shoulders, fade away.

"Please Tony?"

"Okay Abs, I'll be there... but I can't promise you that the night will be trouble free... after all there is likely to be a trip to the emergency room after a certain someone gets a look at me in this thing..." He tried to add humour to his comment but Abby had known him long enough to be able to tell that deep down he was petrified to face the truth.

There was a time in the past that very few people knew that Tony DiNozzo hid behind the mask of a clown and a playboy. It had all but disappeared by the time Gibbs had left them and NCIS behind, up until just before the shooting the occasional joke would be made every so often, and it would seem like nothing had changed.

After Tony's last visit, however, Abby had been worried that her friend's comedic side had finally been destroyed along with the section of his spinal cord, and even though there was no real heart behind his joke she was glad to see he still tried.

Not wanting this moment of joking to end, she felt the urge to keep it up "Yeah, and who will end up being the patient? You or him?"

Her heart fluttered when she heard him laugh again "Both probably! The old bastard is probably stubborn enough to hold out on the heart attack until after he has head slapped me into a coma."

"You know I have a feeling you may just be right with that theory. So are you going to take a shower or a you planning on rocking up to my place smelling like an old gym sock? Because I gotta tell ya Tonyboy, you stink!" His smile was big and genuine and she knew that she would be forgiven once again.

"Love you too Abs!"

Not wanting to break apart from Abby he held on a little bit longer. Even though he had never felt anything but friendship and brotherly affection for the married Goth, it was nice to have her so close. It was the closest he had been to anyone since ending up in the chair, doctors, nurses and Bling excluded, and it seemed right that his best friend and surrogate little sister was the first to get that close, she was the one who always knew exactly what was going on in his mind and what he needed.

Finally finding the courage and energy to pull away, the two shared a small smile, his of gratitude and hers of understanding, and he led her into the kitchen where Bling was seated at the island counter, reading through one of Eyes-Only's many case files, only looking up when he heard the sound of the rolling chair and clunking shoes.

"I don't believe the two of you have been formally introduced yet, Bling I would like you to meet Mrs Abby Sciuto McGee, teacher, forensic scientist extraordinaire and Maria's new mother, not to mention my oldest and dearest friend; Abs this is is the arse kicking ex Navy Seal, physical therapist slash shrink slash whatever else he feels he needs to be to get the job done, I told you about." Bling held out his hand for Abby and was shocked when she pounced on him with one of her signature hugs "Oh by the way, forgot to mention she's a hugger!"

"You, go have a shower. Now! You still stink and I need to get back before Timmy burns down the farm trying to cook dinner. I am sure Bling here and I will find _plenty_ to talk about while I wait for you."

Bling looked on amused as Logan gave his visitor a warning glare "Abs..." the green eyed man as Abby pointed towards his bedroom "Watch this one Bling, she can be a handful!"

Bling laughed again, he had never seen anyone make Logan smile as much as this strange friend "Can't be as much trouble as you."

Feigning hurt Logan looked at his PT "Ouch! What is this, pick on Logan Cale day?"

"Nope, it's Friday! Shower. Now!" he mumbled something indecipherable as he rolled away leaving his two friends smirking at each other.

When the door to Logan's room shut Abby pulled Bling into another hug, the first time she did it the man had been shocked, when she did it the second time he was completely confused. The Goth must have sensed something during the hug because when she pulled away she had a small, unreadable smile on her face and it was then that Bling noticed the tears collecting in her eyes.

"Thank you..." was all Abby managed to choke out before the tears rapidly began to fall.

This time it was Bling that pulled Abby into an embrace, holding her tightly while she silently cried. It took a couple of seconds before she had controlled her emotions enough to speak.

"I know it will never be enough but I just needed you to say it... I needed you to know. I don't know what would have happened to him if you weren't the one to help him through this... I know he will never admit to it but he is scared to death knowing that for the rest of his life he is going to be stuck in that chair, he's always been a very independent man... he's had to be... and this is just killing him." She prayed that the tears wouldn't start up again, she didn't want her face to be all red and splotchy when Tony was ready to leave, she had already had one break down in front of him, because of him, he didn't need to know she was on the verge of another. "I've known him a long time and it terrifies me that he isn't dealing with this."

Bling could see the pain Logan's friend felt for the injured man, in a weird sense it was comforting to see because it showed that the other man had someone that would be there for him when he decided to finally break.

In his role as PT and friend, Bling could only do so much, and even though he knew Max would be there for Logan, she had only met him once or twice before the shooting and what the man really needed was the support of those who had known him the longest and knew him the best.

"You're right, I was in the room when Logan's doctor told him the extent of his injury and have been with him almost every day since and he isn't dealing with the whole situation as well as he could..." placing a hand on Abby's arm at the shocked gasp, Bling tried to reassure her "People handle changes like his in many different ways and at the moment Logan is either throwing himself a hundred percent into his work or he's just running n autopilot, completing one task after another just to get through the day so he doesn't have to think about or deal with his new way of life. He even tries to avoid sleep as much as possible because for a brief minute, every time he wakes up, he has forgotten he can no longer walk."

Tears continued to silently fall down Abby's face and Bling lead her to the black leather couch in front of the massive windows, it was only when they were sitting did he continue "That's what Logan's normally like, the last week has been different though. After he dropped Maria off with you he came home and slept longer then I have ever seen him sleep. I thought that was a good sign, however, when an unexpected visitor showed up the next day Logan practically pleaded with me to hide his chair, that is not the actions of a man that is coping..."

Abby's face, already slightly red from crying, flushed with guilt "That would've been my fault, I know he has some serious issues with Gibbs and he made me promise I wouldn't call him but I couldn't just sit back and watch him silently fall apart, that is not the type of person I am, especially when he would do the same for me." she paused for a slight second wondering how much Tony had told this guy about his past and true identity "I don't know if he told you or not, but Gibbs ordered Tony to survive once, when he was too close to death for any of our liking, and it worked. I was kinda hoping it hasn't been too long between them that it back fires... you said you were here the other day when Gibbs showed up, what do you think?"

Bling could see the hope that Abby held onto as if it were a life raft and he had a feeling that even if she heard the worst from him she wouldn't give it up _'who would have thought Logan Cale, eternal pessimist, best friends with an eternal optimist!_' he chuckled lightly and received a weird look from the Goth.

"I told you that it wasn't a good sign that he hid the chair but what I hadn't mentioned was the fact that I have never seen Logan Cale show as much anger over anything as he did with the arrival of this Jethro guy..." again he saw the worried look, the endless supply of tears continuing to well up in her eyes, and he wished she would wait until he had finished talking before reacting "Don't tell his crankiness this, but I think you did the right thing by calling up this old friend, he might just be the perfect outlet to vent all of his pent up issues and emotions, especially when said old friend finds out about the paralysis."

Shakily, Abby let out a little sigh of relief at being praised for going against her friends wishes, even though she thought it was the right thing to do it didn't stop her from feeling guilty "That's one of the reasons why I'm dragging him out tonight, not only is Timmy, my husband, uncomfortable around Ton.. I mean Logan, now that he's in the chair; but I also think that it's time Logan faced up to reality and time Leroy Jethro Gibbs got his head out of his ass long enough to see what can happen to his family after being gone for ten years... though there's a chance Logan will need an escape plan!"

Laughing, the PT was glad to see that Abby's tears were slowing down "If things get too heated just call me and I'll come get him since I assume you'll be driving?" she replied with a devious smile and a nod. "You said before that Gibbs _ordered_ him to survive once?"

"Yup, he sure did! It's a very long story which I am sure you will hear about one day, probably not from Logan himself but definitely from someone who was there. For now let's just say that his shooting was not the first time our boy has escaped the clutches of death." an involuntary shiver shook her her entire body as she thought over the numerous times he had almost been taken from her "Logan's been known to have either the worst luck, for all the trouble he has found, or the best luck for surviving it all."

Abby's words only confirmed Bling's suspicions that Logan was not who he said he was. As his physical therapist Bling had seen more of Logan than he assumed most people had. In the first days of his recovery Bling had helped teach his patient to re-learn how to dress himself, seeing him fully undressed, while embarrassing on the injured man's part, had allowed the ex-Seal to see the myriad of scars scattering his body. He knew then that Logan mustn't always have been the journalist he now claimed to be, there weren't too many journalists that had scars from what could only be from bullets and knives; unless they had reported from the front-line of some war, even then it was odd.

"I just hope he still has that same fight left in him..." the honesty and helplessness in her words shook the muscular man from his thoughts with a start.

"I'm pretty sure I don't know everything about the man that is Logan Cale, but what I do know is that the fight is still there." he paused watching her reaction for a moment "It was there when he came face to face with Jethro and it was there when I walked into that room just before. You and Gibbs have achieved something that not even Max has been able to do and that is to get him to show _real_ emotion."

Abby was confused by the mention of a new person and had to wonder if her Tonyboy had actually taken the time to go and find himself a much needed therapist. The idea was thwarted though when Bling continued.

"I have my suspicions that he has more than a few feelings for that girl but he doesn't let her in as much as you obviously are. You two must be extremely close."

"We've been through a _lot_ together and he's saved my life more than once..." the way Abby trailed off and avoided eye contact with the man opposite her made him wonder if there was more to the story than she was letting on.

"This another one of those 'ordered to survive' things you guys seem to have going on?"

Hesitating for a moment, she cracked a small and forced smile "You could say that... Not the first time but definitely the last time he did... worked too..." her voice was soft and held a new edge of pain to it.

"He's a good man and he deserves to be happy."

"He is and he does. That man in there has known more pain and heartache than the normal human heart would be able to endure... I know I definitely wouldn't have been able to survive it all, what's worse, is that for most of it, he had no one there to support him... he went through it all on his own."

"I don't doubt what you are saying but, if he _has _gone through as much as you say he has, why did you feel the need to bring in reinforcements now?"

"Everyone has their limits Bling, and this could very well be his straw..." her voice quivered a bit but she refused to give in to any more tears "So, tell me about this Max chick..."

"He hasn't told you?" Bling wasn't sure why that surprised him, after all Logan was an extremely private and guarded man, but it did.

"Tell who what?" neither had noticed Logan enter the room, now dressed in dark, loose fitting, cargo pants and a deep, forest green turtle neck. His guilt resurfaced when he noted Abby's puffy, red eyes and it wasn't had to guess what, or who, she had been crying over.

"Me, about Max!" Her hands were on her hips and she tried to act furious at him keeping secrets but the fact that there may have been someone special in his life couldn't stop the glint in her eyes and the broad smile that graced her face.

"Bling..." Logan warned harshly and Bling grinned as his friend's face flushed with embarrassment.

"So Tony... who is this mystery girl you somehow forgot to tell me about?"

* * *

A/N: Well it might have taken me a while but chapter 5 is FINALLY completed, was it worth the wait?

Wasn't going to end it there originally but when I went back to edit this chapter it somehow seemed right. The rest of the stuff will appear sometime later in the fic, not that there was much left anyway.

I didn't stray into the Tabby realm with this chapter did I? If I did sorry it was not my intention and no, Tony/Logan will not be shattering the bonds of the McGeeky Matrimony.

Thoughts?


	6. Chapter 6

**New World (Dis)Order**

_**Disclaimer:**_ Again don't own don't sue.

_**A/N:**_ Sorry about the length of this, It was originally written as part of chapter 5 but I thought it was getting a bit too long with too much happening so I changed it to chapter 6 and the part I first off was going to add to chapter 5 and then became chapter 6 will now be chapter 7.

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Truth Is Out There... Now**

During the entire journey to the farmhouse both occupants of the car remind silent. Abby, who would normally have Android Lust or some other deafening music blasting from the car stereo, kept her focus on the road, only occasionally casting glances to her friend beside her, worrying over his mental state but not wanting to admit to it aloud. Tony, on the other hand, stared out of the rolled up window watching the white painted lines in the middle of the blackened road fade to nothing as tarmac became dirt and gravel. He could fill the bile raising up in his throat, a combination of nerves and stress, and he was tempted to tell Abby to pull off to the side of the road so he could vomit; opting instead to swallow it back down, the acidic after taste burning his throat.

When they arrived Logan found himself in the exact same situation as he had been only four days earlier, sitting in a car staring up at the blood red door, scared to go inside and be rejected. The only difference this time was, he was seated in the passenger seat and not on the drivers side.

He really had no control over the situation, being as this wasn't his hand controlled Aztec, he couldn't just turn the vehicle around and head back to the penthouse. He felt trapped and knew there was no escape, no turning back, he had come to far.

Abby had left him sitting there in silence while she went inside, knowing full well her friend would need some time alone to gather up enough courage to face the man he had long ago idolised.

It was true that the two men had had a heated confrontation only two days before but it had been so much easier for Logan then, without his paralysis being a factor. He knew how much his old boss hated signs of weakness and there was no doubt in his mind that the older man would view a dependence on a wheelchair as the biggest sign of weakness since apologising. '_Hell _' Logan thought '_There is no other way to view it apart from weakness_'.

Logan wasn't sure how long he had sat there in the car, lost in a world of self loathing and doubt, but he guessed it must have been quite some time when one minute he was there by himself and the next thing he knew the driver's side door was tugged open forcefully and Gibbs was taking a seat with an unamused grunt.

"You gonna sit here on your lazy ass all day DiNozzo, or are you going to stop acting like a petulant child and come inside?" Gibbs being Gibbs didn't pose his words as the question they normally would, but more as an order that was to be followed. In reply his former second in command gave off a humourless chuckle.

"You know what _Jethro_? I think I will sit on my ass all day, whether you like it or not, seeing as I really have no other option." Logan couldn't suppress a second chuckle as he watched Gibbs' jaw tighten and a vain pulsating in his neck causing his face to turn an ugly shade of scarlet.

"What the hell are you on about DiNozzo? You will get out of this car this instant and march yourself inside! Abby and McGee have gone to a lot of trouble to make tonight happen and there is a young girl inside who wants to see you, says she has something to tell you. You _will not_ spoil this for them, you hear me?"

"What like you spoiled the first year of their marriage by abandoning them?"

There was a time when the look on Gibbs had, a look that the older man's silver head was about to explode from all the rage and fury inside, would have had Tony DiNozzo stumbling over his words, trying to make things right in fear that this might be the time Gibbs actually killed him. However he was no longer Anthony DiNozzo, he was Logan Cale, and Logan Cale didn't give a shit what the man beside him thought, said or did. Or so Logan had led himself to believe.

Running a slightly shaking hand through his unkempt hair, Cale thought it was about time to bring up a certain fact that he would have preferred to keep to himself, but if he ever had any intentions of getting out of the vehicle he needed to bring it up. Taking a deep breath he summoned up as much courage and anger as he could to get through with his admission.

"Did the Mexican heat completely melt your brain or are you just going senile in your old age?"

With every word that spilled from the younger man's mouth Gibbs could feel what little hold he had on his patience wearing away "DiNozzo if you don't stop talking in riddles soon my foot is going to be so far up your ass that you will still be feeling it the day you die!"

"Doubt it" Cale chuffed out under his breath, as Gibbs' death glare intensified Logan rolled his eyes and continued "Just take a moment to think about what I said before 'bout me not getting off of my ass, and think about everything you noticed from the other day... What does the evidence tell you?"

He could see the older man's mind go over all the details of their recent interactions and Gibbs looked back at Logan with an expression on his face that conveyed that he was still completely puzzled. Even after all these years apart Logan could tell that Gibbs had one of his famous gut feelings and that even though he was still lost on the exact details of what was going on, he knew it didn't sit right with him.

After a couple of minutes of silence the man in the passenger seat spoke with an almost defeated tone "If you are still that confused take a look in the back seat and tell me what you see..."

Hesitantly looking over his shoulder without bothering to fully turn around Gibbs noticed that the slowly setting sun, shining through the dust covered window, was bouncing off of something metallic, the reflected light beam almost blinding him. Shifting his whole body around with curiosity, Gibbs noticed that upon closer inspection that the metallic object was actually the rim of a folded up wheelchair, he paled a little and felt his stomach sink to the ground. Snapping his head back around, his glare at the younger man intensified.

"Yeah, it's exactly what you think you saw..." green eyes met blue and it didn't escape the ex marine that there was a touch of something, sadness, embarrassment or possibly even hurt, behind those glasses "Now do you know why I can't get off of my ass and why Abby was convinced you needed to come out and rescue me?"

"You wanna tell me why the hell you need a wheelchair DiNozzo?" Even though Gibbs' voice was calm, it was still demanding and Logan couldn't help but visibly flinch at the word 'wheelchair'. He had never expected his name and that word to be uttered in the same sentence, least of all from that man's mouth.

"Could just be because of the fact that my legs can no longer support my own weight, and you know, when that happens the whole putting one foot in front of the other in the act of the movement called walking gets thrown out the window. Might be because from about the waist down I have absolutely no sensation at all... who knows could be a combination of the two! Also before you ask, no, it doesn't really matter how it happened." There was a fire in Logan's words that Gibbs hadn't heard since that meeting in Jenny Shepard's office after Tony's cover, and his car, had been blown apart during the Grenouille mission.

"Is it permanent?" the voice had lost all it's edge and the younger of the two wouldn't have even recognised the voice as belonging to Leroy Jethro Gibbs except for the fact they were the only two in the car.

"No, as you said I am just to lazy to get off of my ass, you know I got tired of the whole walking thing..." neither of them had expected the particularly bitter sarcasm and Logan immediately felt bad for it ""Yeah... yeah it's 'bout as permanent as it can get." he had turned away before he had started speaking again, the conversation was hard enough without having to see the disappointment in Gibbs' eyes. "I gave you an answer now will you just get inside?"

"I'm not going anywhere until you explain everything! I will not have you sitting in this car all night just to avoid me!"

"Damn it Gibbs! Will you just get out of the fucking car and go inside! I am not going to avoid you I just don't want to do the fucking transfer with you gawking at me! It's not exactly easy for me to get in and out of cars any more, especially not one this high and one I am not fucking used to. It is bad enough that I have to do it at all but I don't think I could handle it if you witnessed it!" all the energy that he had been fighting with had seemingly disappeared and the vulnerability, which had previously been hidden, began to shine through. "Please?"

Gibbs stared at the man he had once trusted with his life, the man whom he had practically thought of as a son, for a long hard minute and he finally saw the real reason that Abby had called him. The man beside him was definitely not the happy-go-lucky, fun loving Anthony DiNozzo he had once known. No, this was a broken, beaten down shell of a man.

The way Logan had pleaded with him and avoided direct eye contact revealed a painful desperation that he had not seen as DiNozzo had laid in a blue lit glass box, struggling for each breath, fighting off a disease from the dark ages; hadn't seen on a roof top when the younger man's face was covered in the blood and brain matter of his partner; he hadn't seen it on his face as he collapsed against a trick door in a small store, covered in dust, after a close friend and ex lover had just been blown apart by a terrorist; it was nothing like the look on his face outside of an abandoned diner as he packed away the evidence from the Jenny's death, and what shocked him even more was that it was so much more painful to look at then the reaction he had seen on the flight back from Tel Aviv.

Gibbs had been with the man beside him through tragedies that would have broken a lesser man, had watched as Tony fought his emotions back, dealing with them in his own way, eventually coming out stronger than he had been before.

This time was different and Gibbs knew it.

He didn't want to admit it, but it hurt Gibbs to see his younger companion reduced to this. For the first time since that phone call he was thankful to be in Seattle. He also knew that fixing the problem was not going to be an easy task and there was a really good chance that they may never get Anthony DiNozzo back completely.

* * *

Silently getting out of the car, Gibbs made his way into the house, not bothering to spare a glance at the lone figure in the vehicle. Doubting whether he would be able to handle the sight. As he opened the blood red door both McGee and his wife were waiting for him.

For a second he let the heart break and pain sweep through his body, but it wasn't long until his default setting of anger took over once again, his face burning with anger and betrayal and he directed it at the couple before him.

"Wanna tell me why in the hell you kept the fact DiNozzo's in a God damn wheelchair from me?" by the matching expression on their faces, he knew this was going to be a long and painful night.

A/N: Dun Dun Duuuunnnn! So Leroy Jethro Gibbs (or if you follow me on twitter the Muppet now known as Kermy Leviro Gibbs) has found out. Out of these two latest chapters, this was the first thing I wrote (with the exception of the opening paragraph which was added after I cut it in half to form 2 separate chapters).

Thoughts?


End file.
